Gary Johnson on Immigration

Libertarian presidential nominee; former Republican NM Governor

Arizona anti-immigrant law leads to racial profiling

Immigration is an issue on which most of the so-called "mainstream" politicians in the US have shown a striking LACK of courage. A 2010 interview reported [on my] disdain for hardliners [regarding] the incendiary new immigration law passed in AZ: "I just
don't think it's going to work," he says. "I think it's going to lead to racial profiling. I don't know how you determine one individual from another--is it color of skin? --as to whether one is an American citizen or the other is an illegal immigrant."

Source: Seven Principles, by Gary Johnson, p.126-127
, Aug 1, 2012

A 10-foot wall just requires an 11-foot ladder

[One journalist] noted, rightly, that I favor an expansive guest worker program and am uncomfortable with the idea of mass deportation. So, he asked me about the idea of increasing security by means of a border wall.

"I have never been
supportive of the wall," I answered. "A 10-foot wall just requires an 11-foot ladder."

Source: Seven Principles, by Gary Johnson, p.127
, Aug 1, 2012

2 year grace period for illegals to get work visas

Potential immigrants should be issued a Social Security card, which would allow them to pay taxes.

There should be a two-year grace period for illegal immigrants to attain work visas so they can continue contributing to
America and begin taking part in American society openly.

Immigrants should be able to bring their families to the US after demonstrating ability to support them financially.

Let some, but not all, illegal immigrants stay in US

OnTheIssues indicates that Gov. Johnson is open to all illegals being able to stay in the United States. The Governor is only open to some of the illegals being able to stay in the United States. The Governor supports a
2 year grace period for illegals to get work visas, after which those without work visas would be deported. He also believes in a "1 strike and you're out policy" for legal immigrants who violate the terms of their stay in the United States.

We educate the world's best & brightest; why send them back?

Q: You were a border-state governor. What would your approach to immigration be?

A: Because of our convoluted immigration policies we're educating the best and brightest kids from all over the world and we're sending them back to their
countries of origin. Instead of them staying here to start up businesses that will employ tens of millions of Americans they go home and employ tens of millions of Indians. We're doing that to ourselves.

We should make it as easy as possible to be able to get a legal work visa--not citizenship, not a green card. Just a work visa, with a background check and a social security card so that applicable taxes would get paid.

And then legalize marijuana. 75% of the border violence with Mexico would go away.

Open the border; flood of Mexicans would become taxpayers

A: Hispanics who immigrate care about their families like other Americans care about their families. They're living in poverty in Mexico and can come to the US and do a lot better.

Q: By--according to
some--taking away jobs.

A: They work the lowest-paying jobs. And they are taking jobs that other Americans don't necessarily want. They're hardworking people who are taking jobs that others don't want. That's the reality.

Q: Would you open the
borders and make it easier to immigrate legally?

A: My vision of the border with Mexico is that a truck from the United States going into Mexico and a truck coming from Mexico into the United States will pass each other at the border going
60 miles an hour. Yes, we should have open borders.

Q: Many Americans fear the flood of immigrants that would follow.

A: They would become taxpayers. They're just pursuing dreams---the same dreams we all have. They work hard. What's wrong with that?

Source: David Sheff interview in Playboy Magazine
, Jan 1, 2001

Mexican immigrants are pursuing same dreams we all have

Q: In California, there was a backlash against illegal immigrants. Voters passed a proposition that would deny them medical & other services.

A: It wouldn't be a problem if they were legal, so the process to make them legal should be easier.

Q:
Many Americans fear the flood of immigrants that would follow.

A: They would come over and take jobs that we don't want. They would become taxpayers. They're just pursuing dreams---the same dreams we all have. They work hard. What's wrong with that?

Source: Interview with David Sheff in Playboy Magazine
, Jan 1, 2001

Share costs of legal immigration between states & federal.

Johnson adopted the National Governors Association policy:

The Governors urge Congress to consider the following principles regarding immigration policies.

The decision to admit immigrants is a federal one that carries with it a firm federal commitment to shape immigration policy within the parameters of available resources we as a nation are determined to provide.

The fiscal impact of immigration decisions must be addressed by the federal government. The states, charged with implementing federal policy, have shared and are sharing in the costs; however, there should be no further shift of costs to the states.

A basic responsibility of the federal government is to collect and disseminate timely and reliable statistical information on immigration and its consequences for the United States.

Federal immigration policies should ensure that new immigrants do not become a public charge to federal, state, or local governments.

The federal government must provide adequate information to and consult with states on issues
concerning immigration decisions that affect the states.

States should not have to incur significant costs in implementing federal laws regarding immigration status as a condition of benefits.

The Governors urge the following regarding Legalization and Naturalization:

States require maximum flexibility in determining and allocating resources to meet the needs of newly legalized aliens.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) must be diligent in its efforts to ensure that felons are not naturalized and being given the benefits of citizenship rather than being deported.

The naturalization process should be streamlined to be more efficient and accessible to eligible applicants wishing to become citizens, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof.

The INS must take aggressive action to eliminate the backlog of naturalization applications, which is now approximately 800,000 nationwide.

Federal government should deal with criminal repatriation.

Johnson adopted the National Governors Association policy:

[Regarding illegal immigration], the Governors continue to call on the federal government to negotiate and renegotiate prisoner transfer treaties to expedite the transfer of criminal aliens in the United States who are subject to deportation or removal. The negotiations for such agreements should focus on:

ensuring that the transferred prisoners serve the balance of their state-imposed prison sentence;

removing any requirement that the prisoners consent to be transferred to their countries of origin;

structuring the process to require that the prisoners serve the remainder of their original prison sentence if they return to the United States; and

considering economic incentives to encourage countries of origin to take back their criminal citizens.

Additionally, the Governors believe the federal government should:

increase the use of interior repatriation with countries contiguous to the United States;

place INS officials in state and local facilities for early identification of potentially deportable aliens - nearer the point of their illegal entry - to ensure formal deportation prior to release; and

upon the request of a state Governor, place INS officers in state courts to assist in the identification of criminal aliens pending criminal prosecution.

Finally, the Governors are concerned about the large number of deported felons that are returning to the United States. A significant number of the criminal alien felons housed in state prisons and local jails are previously convicted felons who reentered the United States after they were deported. The Governors urge the federal government to provide sufficient funds for proven positive identification systems, like the Automated Fingerprinting Identification System (AFIS), to allow for the expanded use of these systems in the rest of the nation.